Introduction

Welcome to the Gringoes.com email newsletter!
This newsletter pulls together some of the articles, photos, polls and other information that has been published on the Gringoes.com web site over the last week or so. Don't forget to visit the Gringoes.com site to checkout our article archive, useful information pages, classified adverts, services, forum and other pages. So read on and we hope you enjoy the newsletter. As always if you have any comments, such as what you'd like to see more or less of on the site or newsletter, don't hesitate to contact us at gringoes@gringoes.com.
Please note that although we are based in São Paulo, the site and newsletter are for the whole of Brazil. We are particularly interested in hearing from people outside of São Paulo city, specifically Rio de Janeiro and the Northeast, so if you would like to write about your experiences or any topic related to Brazil see our request for "Article Writers" below.
If you're interested to know the origin behind the site name, then read the "Dear Gringo" article here by Dr. G.


The American Society of São Paulo

Are you an expat - American, British, German, French, or other - living in São Paulo? Join the American Society and enjoy our expat get-togethers (pub nights, hiking trips, eggnog parties, etc.) as well as our monthly 16-page Forum magazine, while helping contribute to the Society‘s community assistance programs in the city. AmSoc is great way to meet new people: families and singles. We are a civil, non-profit association with no political or religious affiliations. To join, visit www.amsoc.com.br.


Teaching English in Brazil

By Ricky Skelton
Like many gringoes who come to Brazil, I was hoping to find an exotic job in an exotic place and improve my language skills (or develop some) along the way by working with exotic Brazilians. The latter was the only one to come true, but not in the way that I‘d expected. Teaching English was always the backup plan, and so it came to pass. No surprise to anybody who has tried to find other work in Brazil. I taught (I use the past tense, but I may not be finished with it yet) in a couple of places, with São Paulo being the main one. And what a frustrating experience it was, and not only because I wasn‘t very good at it. That wasn‘t down to my students, hell no. I generally genuinely liked them: lawyers, doctors, psychologists, journalists, film-makers, and students of all these and more. I was proud of their English because they taught me everything I know about my language. Everyday was a school day. And they paid me for it.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: Surviving The Air Traffic Controllers Strike Part 1

By James Denison
My wife Cassia and I had the most challenging trip of our lives over the past couple of weeks in Brazil. First, we were planning on staying in Lima, Peru for three days before heading to Brazil. But our travel agent neglected to let us know that we could not get into Brazil from Peru without proof of having had a yellow fever vaccination. So LAN Peru forced us to go straight through to São Paulo.
Once in Brazil we were caught in the middle of the decisive work-slowdown of the air traffic controllers. Since we planned to hit eight different cities in Brazil, we inevitably were stuck in the absolutely worst affected airports in the country: Brasilia and São Paulo.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil: The Curmudgeon and Competition Law

By The Curmudgeon
The Ides of March have come and gone, but the end of the month has brought about 3 news stories involving household words in Brazil. On March 22, Petrobras (and others) bought Ipiringa, the only other refiner in Brazil and one of the largest retail gas station owners. On March 28, AmBev, the Brazilian beer giant, bought up one of its small competitors (Cintra); and GOL, the second-largest Brazilian airline, bought the "new" Varig.
We notice two underlying features of these Brazilian block-busters: nationalism and the desire for underlying assets.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brazil Through Foreign Eyes

Meet Pat Moraes, from the USA, who has travelled in Brazil for many years. Read the following interview where she tells us about some of her most memorable experiences from Brazil and gives some useful advice to newcomers.
1. Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from, what do you do etc.?
I am a native Californian, recently retired as an escrow officer for a title company. After 36 years of the daily grind, I am starting to explore new interests and looking forward to spending more time here in Brazil.
2. When did you arrive in Brazil and what brought you here?
I first came to Brazil in 1969 as a foreign exchange student through the American Field Service program and lived for a year with a Brazilian family in Itapetininga in the interior of the state of São Paulo and completed my senior year of high school. Through the years my husband and I have returned almost yearly to spend our vacations with family and friends. This is our second year of spending an extended period of time here in Brazil. We have been here 4 and half months and we are leaving in ten days for our home in the States.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Article Writers

Are you a "Gringo" (foreigner) living in or travelling around Brazil with experiences you would like to write about, or with advice to offer? Are you a Brazilian who would like to explain about Brazil to foreigners, and help give advice on what to do, and where to go? Perhaps you just write a frequent blog about Brazil, and would be interested in publishing some of this on our site. If you are interested in writing an article, or series of articles, or posting your blog content on Gringoes.com we are interested in hearing from you! Don't be shy! All we ask is that the articles are focused on Brazil, will be of interest to foreigners either travelling or living here, and are written in English.
We are particularly interested in hearing from people who want to write about areas other than São Paulo, specifically Rio de Janeiro and the Northeast, although other areas as well. If you are unsure about a topic then drop us an email or a draft article. Send your articles or any questions to gringoes@gringoes.com with "articles" in the subject.


Interviews

Thanks to those who responded to our request for interviews. We've almost run out though, so if you would like to be in our Brazil Through Foreign Eyes, or Foreigners Through Brazilian Eyes series please send us an email. As you can see it doesn't matter if you're a foreigner to Brazil, or Brazilian, we're still interested to hear from you. The interview series is a fascinating look at how real people are enjoying Brazil, and equally how Brazilians really see foreigners. They also give various tips on what to see in Brazil, and how to survive here.
The interview itself is a set of around 15 easy-to-answer questions, and ideally we like a digital photo of you as well we can place with the interview.
So if you're interested, don't be shy, send a blank email to mark@gringoes.com with "Interview" in the subject. We will then send you the questions, and instructions on how to complete. We'd love to hear from you!
A gentle reminder to those who have been sent questions. Please don't forget to complete and return them!


Gringoes Poll

This week's poll, continued from last week, was suggested by our resident Portuguese tipster, Teacher Claudia. How often would you like to see Portuguese tips on the site, once a week, or more? Claudia will have her work cut out for her as the top vote is "every day" with 68%, once a week with 21%, and once a fortnight with 5%. If you haven't yet voted go to our homepage and look for the poll in the left-hand column.
If you can't stand our poll ideas and have better ones, or are curious about some aspect of the Gringoes.com readers, then send your ideas to us at mark@gringoes.com with "Poll Idea" in the subject. If we choose your poll you will get a credit in the newsletter, as well as the satisfaction of seeing what the answers are!

Please send this email to anyone you think might find it interesting. If you have not yet registered with gringoes.com and would like to receive future newsletters click here. If you have mistakenly received this message, or would no longer like to receive mail from us, then please reply to this email with the word 'take out' in the subject line. If you are unsubscribing because the newsletter doesn't meet your needs then please let us know how we can improve it.

Competition! Submit a Tip

There's another chance to win our regular fortnightly competition, with a prize of a R$150 voucher for the Tabu Restaurant located in the Sonesta Hotel, in São Paulo.
To win the prize this fortnight you need to submit a tip for our Tip of the Week column by 2nd May, from which we'll select a prize winner. Next fortnight we'll change the competition topic to something else.
Send your photos to mark@gringoes.com with "Competition" in the subject.


Weekly Quiz

We've run out of quiz questions, so a special request for some more! Do you think you can stump the Gringoes.com readers? If so then please send your quiz questions to mark@gringoes.com with ‘Weekly Quiz Ideas’ in the subject line. Don't forget to send the answer to the question also! Remember it needs to be relatively difficult, and not something that can be found from a simple Internet search.


Photo of the Week

The photo of the week is titled Shade and taken by Ron Johnston. Click here to see the photo.
Thanks to all those who've sent in photos based on our request, but we can always do with more. So if you have a funny or unusual photo depicting life in Brazil please send it to gringoes@gringoes.com with ‘Photo of the Week’ in the subject line. Ideally we are after photos that are of something a little different, not traditional shots of beaches and sunsets. Please send relatively high resolution images (0.5 Megapixel / 640 x 480 or bigger), and let us know where you took the photo and if you have a title for it.


Tip of the Week

Our tip of the week comes from John Chalmers (thanks John!) and is: one tip for Brits in Brazil is to use Nationwide Building Society credit or debit cards (Visa). They do not charge for cash withdrawals and it's always at the interbank rate. For 4 years we found the Bradesco machines the most convenient but their new software has phased out the use of Nationwide cards. We now have to use Banco 24hrs who apply a small R$6 charge, but we can draw upto R$1000 at a time subject to the UK banks security limit off £300 per day.
Is there something you wish you had known while travelling, or something that makes life easier while living here in Brazil? Then share it, and let our readers know. Don't worry about the subject, it can be either a big or small piece of useful information. Send your tips to mark@gringoes.com with ‘Tip of the Week’ in the subject line.


Brazil: Weekly News Roundup

Lula Grants Land to Indians
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva granted around 978,000 hectares (2.4 million acres) of land to Indians this Thursday, National Indian Day. The land has been divided into six territories, that the tribes say are their ancestral lands, located in the Amazon rainforest, and southern, and northeastern Brazil. Lula has already distributed 71 territories.
Lula's Performance Drops
A poll by Ibope has shown a significant drop in support for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. 49% of respondents rated Lula's performance as good or very good, a drop of 8 points since December.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Popular Brazilian Expressions Part 2

By Tamashin
Here is part 2 of Tamashin‘s article on popular expressions in Brazilian Portuguese that he has been collecting. To read part 1 click the relevant link at the end of the article.
21. Em rio de piranhas, jaquare so nada de costas.
22. Falem mal, mas falem de mim.
23. Macaco velho nao poe a mao em cumbuca.
24. Dois bicudos nao se beijam.
25. Pobre so anda de carro quando vai preso.
26. Quem avisa, amigo ´e.
27. Isso so pro ingles ver.
28. Eles sao brancos, eles la que entendam.
29. Quem conta um conto, aumenta um ponto.
30. Briga de marido e mulher, ninguem mete a colher.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Brecht, Weill & Buarque: The Brazilian Play‘s the Thing! Part 2

Here is part 2 of Joe's article. To read part 1 please click the relevant link at the end of the article.
But with all due respect to Seu Chico, that‘s as gutsy a response as any to accusations of the Brazilian songwriter‘s feigning ignorance of his European literary sources, to say nothing of the difficulty he encountered in obtaining approval beforehand (from authorities in both Rio and Brasília) for the staging of his novel musical experiment.
What we do have, bottom line, is a third major influence on Chico‘s modern street opera, in the subtle but no less tangible model laid out for him by an eighteenth-century English poet‘s ever-popular "ballad opera" called, suitably enough in Portuguese, Ópera do Mendigo.
…click here to read the rest of the article>>


Discussion Forum

If you've not had a chance yet then pop over to our web forum, register, and start joining in the discussion about Brazil. There are many forum areas such as Living in Brazil, Teaching English, Visas and Documentation, and even a place to Vent Your Frustrations! There's also a forum which allows you to comment on Gringoes.com, either with your views about past articles, areas of the site, or to make suggestions for future articles and content.
Each week in the newsletter we will choose a Post of the Week to give you some idea of what's happening in the forum, and a good thread to visit and read. This week we recommend the post "Oh - There are so many...." started by the user buziosuk in our "Vent Your Frustration" forum. The post is discussing many of the frustrations gringo(e)s experience in Brazil.
If you have a recommendation for Post of the Week then send an email to mark@gringoes.com with "Post of the Week" in the subject.
Note that foul language and abusive posts in the forum will not be tolerated. The forum is intended to be a constructive and lighthearted place for discussion about Brazil.

Forex

The US dollar has dropped slightly despite both a rise and a drop earlier in the week, currently at R$2.02, compared with R$2.03 a week ago. The Euro rose earlier in the week, but has fallen back to remain unchanged over the week at R$2.76. The British Pound has dropped slightly over the week from R$4.06 to R$4.04.